A Church Of Miracles
by SMOKEinPetrone3919
Summary: A series of fluff surrounding Zack and Aerith. I'm horrible with summaries so just check it out. NOTE: WILL CHANGE TO M RATING SOON
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Alright well it's here. The first chapter to my ongoing fanfic with Zack and Aerith from FF VII: Crisis Core. I do not own the characters, universe, etc. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it.**

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

The early morning fog hung thick in the air. Zack stood outside the church, which a slight knot in his stomach. Maybe it was his lack of sleep the night before, maybe it was the nervousness he had at the situation before him. "Why am I so nervous? It's not like I haven't asked her on a date before. It was so easy the first time, but why is it so hard this time?" He shook his head and took a deep breath before walking inside the church.

Zack slowly opened the door of the church. He silently walked in to see the beautiful woman kneeling on the ground, wearing her usual blue dress, surrounded by her all too familiar flowers. Zack took a step back to admire the almost angelic woman as she knelt surrounded by what seemed like an aura around her. He almost didn't want to disrupt her from this angelic state, but he knew he had to eventually. After a couple moments he cleared his throat, took a step forward, and spoke up.

"Aerith?"

His voice rang out, echoing and resonating within the church. It took a moment before Aerith turned and saw Zack. She quickly sprung up from where she knelt and ran over to Zack, hugging him tightly.

"Zack… this is quite unexpected… what brings you here?" she looked up at him, her eyes gleaming with subtle tears of joy as she made sure he really was there.

"Yeah it is…" He returned the hug and looked her in the eyes. "I was... going to ask… ask if…" he started choking on his words. _"Damn it man, pull yourself together. Why are you choking this time? It's been so easy for you before so why is it so hard now?"_ He cleared his throat again and spoke. "Look would you want to go on a second date with me?"

Aerith couldn't help but laugh to herself as Zack stood there embarrassed in front of her. "Well of course I would. We've gone on a date before silly, so of course I would want to go on another one."

Zack laughed nervously. "Well…" he looked her in the eyes and grabbed her hand. "I don't mean to be so sudden, but let's go then." He turned and started walking outside the church as Aerith followed quickly behind him.

"Wait…" she said, stopping for a moment before he opened the door to the church.

"What is it?" He asked her as he looked back worried.

"Do you even know where you're going?"

"No I don't, but I'm here spending time with you, so let's not waste any of it."

While hours had past in reality, to the two it didn't feel like that long. They did nothing that people would consider "interesting" besides walk around, talk, catch up with each other's lives, but to them it was exactly what the two wanted.

As the two were walking, two little girls, not even 5 years old, shyly approached Aerith. "Hello Miss Aerith." The two said quietly. Aerith's eyes opened in joy. "Well hello there." she said, greeting the two in her usual warm manor. "Is there something the matter?" she asked, noticing the girls' shy demeanor. "Um… we were just wondering… is that your boyfriend?" The two pointed up at Zack, who upon hearing the question instantly blushed and turned away. Aerith laughed to herself before pulling the girls in close and whispered, "Well, you could say that I suppose." She smiled as she sent the kids on their way. After they left, Aerith stood up and put her hand on Zack's cheek.

"That was very embarrassing." Zack said, as he turned to look at her again.

"Why are you so embarrassed? I thought it was cute." She smiled up at him as he blushed a light shade of red.

The two continued walking around until they reached the church again. The two stopped to look at the sky as the sun was now setting. Zack chuckled to himself. "It's funny… this morning it was all foggy and dark outside, and now it's all bright and sunny." "It's funny how that happens…" Aerith replied. There was a long pause between the two, before the all too sudden sound of a cell phone went off. Zack quickly stepped to the side and answered.

"Hello? Yeah… really? Alright I'll be right there."

Zack walked back to Aerith. "Welp, looks like duty calls. Always at the most in opportune times though."

Aerith smiled at Zack, "It's understandable. You have a job to do. I'll always be here whenever you want to be here."

Zack smiled before hugging her tightly. Aerith was quick to hug back, holding onto him equally as tight, if not tighter, than he was. Aerith closed her eyes, hoping the moment would never end. Before breaking off, Zack whispered into her ear, "I'll be back as soon as I can I promise you… I'm going to miss you Aerith." With that, the two separated as he walked off into the sunset. As he started to fade away in the distance, Aerith couldn't help but utter one thing as she watched…

"I'll miss you to… my sweet Zack."

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><p>Alright well there was the first chapter. Please review and give feedback. Hopefully I'll have a second chapter up soon.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

_**AN: Well here we are, another chapter. I know it's taken me a long time to get this all finished but it's here. I hope you all like it. Feel free to leave suggestions, critiques, etc.**_

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

It was a crisp early morning, the sun showing bright in the sky, as Zack walked down the pathway to the all familiar church in Sector 5. The fresh morning air and shining sun were a perfect complement to the mood that Zack found him in as he walked with an almost confident stride. Today was the first time in months that he would get to see Aerith, the woman that over the past few months of writing back and forth as he was with SOLDIER and spending time together when he had time off, was really developing strong feelings for. However, for the longest time he had a lingering feeling that this was purely one sided, until a couple days ago, when his friend Cloud came upon something he didn't want Cloud to see.

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><p>"<em>Zack, do you have a girlfriend?"<em>

_Zack looked up at his friend and fellow SOLDIER Cloud Strife, who stood in front of Zack as he sat down reading something to himself._

"_Umm," Zack stuttered momentarily, "N-no, of course I don't. Why would you ask a silly question like that?"_

_Cloud smiled as he set down an open envelop on the table in front of Zack. The front of the envelope had the word "Zack" written in Aerith's handwriting. Upon looking at it, Zack knew exactly what it was and sunk in his chair. "Because I came across this letter earlier this morning and, being the good friend I am, decided to glance over it, not knowing it was mine at first. From the way this was written, it seems as if you had a girlfriend." Cloud smiled from ear to ear, watching his friend as he tried to find a way to explain himself._

_Zack sat still for a moment as he tried to find a way to respond to Cloud without giving him the wrong idea. After a moment, Zack cleared his throat and began to speak._

"_Well… she isn't my girlfriend. Well not yet but…"_

_Before Zack could get another word in edge wise, Cloud was already interrupting. "Not yet? Zack, you have had such great luck with any other woman you've met, why haven't you already swept this woman off her feet yet?"  
><em>

_Zack sat there, contemplating the question before him. Silence filled the air for a good moment before Zack spoke again. "Well, Cloud. She isn't like 'any other woman' I've met before. She's the true definition of beauty; both inside and out. And the closer the two of us get the more beauty I see in her. Even her flaws have some sort of unique beauty to them. It's… it's just… unlike anything I've ever felt before Cloud. Seriously, I don't care how cliché that sounds, it's the truth!" Zack grew silent for a moment before continuing. "She's definitely a very special woman, and I really don't want to screw up and lose someone as amazing as her you know?"_

_Cloud sat there at attention as his friend spoke. Soon after Zack finished, Cloud put his arm on Zack's shoulders and responded, "Zack, you obviously care about this woman. Then go after her man. I don't even know this woman, but just from the way she writes to you I know there's something. Just go for it. Even if it ends badly, you at least took that risk."_

_Zack stood there for a moment, letting what Cloud said sink in a little. "Wow," Zack started, "Of all people to hear this from, it's you. This is usually the other way around my friend." Zack chucked to himself before nodding in agreement. "But you're right. I think I'm going to do it. Once I get a break from this place, I'm going to spend time with Aerith. And who knows, maybe I'll take a risk as well."_

_Cloud smiled at his friend's new found courage. "That's the Zack I know. Let me know what happens after it is all said and done."_

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><p>With this new found courage, Zack continued down the path to the church. It was a matter of time before he reached the door to the all too familiar church where Aerith resided. He was quick to open the door. Upon opening, he quickly set his sights on Aerith. She stood amongst her flowers, the light radiating off of her skin almost giving her an angelic glow. Zack wasted no time in making his presence known.<p>

"Aerith! It's Zack! I'm finally here!" Zack exclaimed, his voice echoing in the remains of the church. Aerith quickly turned her head up and over to where Zack was standing. A bright smile illuminated her face as she ran from her spot up to Zack. Zack met her halfway and wrapped his arms around her tightly, twirling her around a couple times before stopping to pull her into a tight embrace. "I missed you Zack," Aerith whispered. Zack smiled as he softly replied, "I missed you too Aerith; so much."

The two of them spent the whole morning talking and catching up like they always did. Zack told stories from his time away with SOLDIER; Aerith caught him up on how the kids in the area were doing and what she had been up to. The whole morning, Zack knew what he wanted to tell Aerith, but for some strange reason couldn't get it out just yet. The morning rolled on as usual until a young boy slowly peaked into the church.

"Umm… Miss Aerith?" The boy asked in a soft, innocent voice. Aerith quickly walked up to the kid and kneeled down to his level. "Yes," she replied in her soft, yet perky voice, "What can I help you with?" "Well…" the boy started, "My friend said she wanted a flower and um… well I know that there are some in here and I was wondering if I could have one." Aerith kindly smiled at the boy and quickly replied, "Why of course you can!" She turned over to Zack, "Zack, pick this boy a flower will you?" Zack nodded and walked over to the bed of flowers in the middle of the church. He was quick to pick one and walked back to where the two were standing. He kneeled down and handed the flower to the boy. "There you go kid," Zack said, "go make your friend happy."

As the boy ran out of the church, Zack walked back over to the flowers. He sat in the pew closest to the flowers and stared at them, enchanted by the sheer beauty of them. Zack was so entranced by them that he didn't realize that Aerith had found a spot next to him. Aerith looked over at Zack, then to the flowers, then back to Zack. Before she could speak, Zack started to speak.

"These flowers… they're unlike anything I've ever seen before. They're beautiful, strong, and very pleasant to look at. They bring smiles to everyone's face…" Zack turned to look Aerith in the eyes, "Just like their caretaker." Zack brushed his hand against her cheek, feeling the warmth of her skin on his cold glove. She shivered a little, but didn't pull away. They were both enchanted with one another, looking deep into each other's eyes. Before long, Zack closed the gap, planting a soft kiss on Aerith's cheek. The two of them turned a bright red, before Aerith closed the gap, kissing him on the lips. Zack was quick to return the kiss, laying back on the pew in mid kiss. The two shared a few kisses before Aerith pulled away.

"Please tell me you don't have to leave soon…" Aerith said in a worried tone. Zack quickly closed the gap again, kissing her softly before replying. "Trust me Aerith, I won't be leaving any time soon."


End file.
